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OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT01946308

Sleep Organization in Premature Infants With Feeding Difficulties

Babies born too soon, premature babies, can have complications following birth because their systems are immature. Hospitals help prevent deformities and delays in motor development by using therapeutic positioning to provide containment as they would experience in the womb. They also often have trouble eating. They have discomfort, are irritable, refuse to eat and cry because their digestive system is immature. The neonatal intensive unit can create stress and disrupt their sleep. Going from active to deep sleep is essential for infant brain development, learning and memory formation. Their sleep states early in life predict their developmental outcome. The purpose is to determine whether a conformational positioning system, one that can mold to the baby and contain him or her, will allow more time asleep in premature infants with feeding problems compared to the standard crib mattress. We hypothesize that the number of total sleep time will be longer and the number of arousals out of sleep lower when they are sleeping on the conformational positioning system compared to the mattress.

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Key information

Conditions

Premature Infant Sleep Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications Obstetric Labor Complications Obstetric Labor, Premature Pregnancy Complications Premature Birth Urogenital Diseases

Age range

26 week–36 week

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Cincinnati, Ohio, 45229, United States

About this study

Premature infants are at risk for complications due to the immaturity of motor, gastrointestinal, respiratory, cutaneous and behavioral systems. Therapeutic positioning is routinely used to provide containment, maintain a flexed position and prevent skeletal deformities and delays in motor development. Premature infants have feeding difficulties and frequently experience gastroesophageal reflux, discomfort, refusal to feed, irritability, and crying. The neonatal intensive care environment can create stress and disrupts sleep-wake cycles and self-regulatory behaviors. Cycling from active to deep sleep states is required for neurosensory processing, learning, memory formation and brain plasticity. Sleep and waking states for premature infants are predictive of neurodevelopmental outcomes. The purpose of the study is to determine whether the use of conformational positioning will be associated with greater total sleep time in premature infants with a history feeding difficulty compared to positioning on a mattress alone. We hypothesize that the number of arousals and total sleep time will be affected by the support surface. Specifically, the number of arousals will be lower and total sleep time will be greater for infants when they are on a conformational positioning (CP) device compared to when they are on the standard positioning system (mattress) (SP). The use of CP will reduce the number of arousals, increase the total sleep time, and bring about behavioral states that are conducive to regulation of attention, state and motor response relative to SP.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Gestational age of < 37 weeks
  • Feeding difficulty due to prematurity or a medical condition
  • Not taking sedative medications for 24 hours before sleep study
  • Post-surgery
  • Sufficiently medically stable to undergo procedures

Exclusion criteria

  • Gestational age equal to or greater than 37 weeks
  • Clinical apnea
  • Require mechanical ventilatory support
  • Received sedative medications 24 hours before sleep study
  • Brain injury or neurological condition that limits movement
  • Orthopedic conditions requiring fixed positioning
  • Arthrogryposis
  • Osteogenesis imperfecta
  • Medically unstable such that procedures cannot be tolerated

Treatment and study plan

Conformational positioning system

Other

The conformational positioning system will be compared to the standard infant crib mattress.

Other names: therapeutic positioner, fluidized bed positioner

Primary outcomes

  1. Sleep organization defined as efficiency, active sleep time, quiet sleep time, number of arousals, measured by polysomnography

    Time frame: Overnight, 10.5 hour standard EEG sleep study

    Standard polysomnography electrodes are applied to the subject in the evening and the subject is placed on either the standard mattress or the conformational positioning system (assigned at random) for the first 5 hours. The subject is then moved onto the second treatment for the remainder of the study. EEG measures are recorded continuously over the entire period. The EEG data are assessed by trained sleep study physicians and clinical staff.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Sleep state by behavioral observation

    Time frame: Two 30-minute periods, one on each treatment, during the EEG sleep study

    Nurses trained in the techniques of premature infant behavioral state determination will observe the infant for two 30-minute periods while the EEG sleep study is being conducted. One nurse will observe when the subject is on the standard mattress and the other will observe when the subject is on the conformational positioning system. They will record specific behaviors observed in 2-minute intervals during the 30-minute period.

Other outcomes

  1. Impact of prior surgery on sleep organization

    Time frame: Overnight, 10-hour sleep study

    Standard polysomnography electrodes are applied to the subject in the evening and the subject is placed on either the standard mattress or the conformational positioning system (assigned at random) for the first 5 hours. The subject is then moved onto the second treatment for the remainder of the study. EEG measures are recorded continuously over the entire period. The EEG data are assessed by trained sleep study physicians and clinical staff. The sleep organization and behaviorally observed sleep state will be compared for the subjects grouped as having had surgery prior to the study or not having had surgery to ascertain the impact of surgery while controlling for the treatment effects.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2011
Primary completion
2012
Study completion
2012
First posted
Sep 19, 2013
Registry last updated
Jan 29, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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